toxic

You’ve all heard of the dirty dozen, right? Not to be confused with Dirty Harry (though my mother would plant him in her garden, if she could!). These are the top twelve fruits and vegetables known for being laden with pesticides and fungicides. Unfortunately, my favorite “Granny Smith” tops the list every year.

Apples. The number one offender when it comes to toxic residue. According to Environmental Working Group (EWG), the group who publishes the list every year, it’s believed “more pesticides and fungicides are being applied after the harvest so the fruit can have a longer shelf life.” Huh. Well who’d a thunk it. Yet another reason to grow your own. That’s what the kids think, anyway. This week we chased caterpillars from the garden and talked pesticide. Organic pesticide.

The little boy looked up at me in horror. “You want me to squish it?” More

What a great day it is when you stroll out to your garden and discover your black beans are producing at the rate of rabbits! Forget your first batch acted like turtles and moped around at a snail’s pace. Forget your disappointment when you learned the hard way to thoroughly dry a bean before you go tossing it into the pot (hint: don’t shell them, immediately seal them in an airtight plastic container, shelve them in a dark spot in your pantry and expect to eat them – trust me, it only leads to heartache).

Why, forget the past. It’s a new day and a new harvest! So get your fingers peeling and your salsa shaking ’cause it’s time to dance! Really, black beans are an awesome bean to grow. Granted, they’re not the first that comes to mind when planting a garden in Central Florida, but I ask, why not? We have the perfect climate. I mean, when you think of black beans, you think of Cuba, right? Puerto Rico, Miami, South America…all warm and sunny exotic locales, just like my home here in rural Central Florida. As a big fan of latin cuisine myself, I thought back to my first rule of gardening: what do I want to grow? What do I want to eat, is the real question! And me, I love black beans!

In learning to grow these beauties, I learned a few interesting things. First and foremost, when you endure the labor to deliver these babes, make sure you know what to do – and what not to do – once you get them home. Peel them, admire them, place them in a comfortable container, but don’t go and seal it all safe and secure. Not unless you want to come home one day, carried away with dreams of how you’ll prepare your first batch of homegrown black beans, only to discover they’re covered in mold! Or fungus. Not properly schooled in the differences between these two horrific intruders, I couldn’t tell you which smothered the life out of my beans, but one of them did. And it was devastating. Explain that to your six-year-old when he learns of your debacle. And it’s the only bean he’ll eat. Yep. Pulled my hair out on that one.

So take it from me – let them air out a while. Like a fine bottle of red wine, let them breathe. Place them on a plate, an open bowl, maybe in a paper bag, but whatever you do, don’t seal off their air supply because when first peeled, these beans are moist and apparently stay moist for quite some time. How long, I couldn’t tell you. Not yet, anyway. This new batch is only my second, so I’m guarding them with my life. Though…the fact they are my second batch is good news, indeed. Better, when you learn the plants which produced these gems, grew from beans I was able to salvage from my initial harvest. A step toward sustainability – achieved!

And it’s not a difficult process, at all. If you can grow a pole bean, you can grow black beans. (Sorry Arctic Amigos, but you’ll have to barter with your friends south of the border – these pups are sensitive to frost) You’ll note the pods look fairly similar, with long slender bodies, rounded in all the right places, but unlike pole beans, it’s easy to know when to pick them. They change color. Handy, isn’t it? First, they take on a nice lavender shade, an early sign you can pluck away, but if you miss this stage, don’t fret, you can still harvest them, only they’ll be a bit on the dry side when you open them. And who cares? These beans are meant to be dried. So what if they take the initiative and begin the process on the vine?

Word to the wise: don’t eat them as you pick them. I know you’re excited about your first harvest – they’re black beans, for goodness sake! But another fascinating fact I learned along the way was that these beans contain – get ready – contain lectin phytohaemagglutinin. It’s a toxic compound found in beans, most concentrated in the kidney bean. When eaten raw, soaked for an insufficient amount of time, or even cooked for long hours on too low a heat setting, it can cause some bad things to happen to your body. When I researched black beans, the same warning popped up for them, which alarmed me, because I’m that gal in the garden, poppin the produce in my mouth BEFORE it makes it to the kitchen sink. Remember – my veggies are grown without the assistance of dangerous pesticides so I’m not real worried about ingesting nasty chemicals and the like (who knew the bean itself could be the problem?!). So take heed, stay on the safe side while crouched in your bean rows — make sure you soak, soak, boil, boil and then eat. And enjoy!